CHARLTON 


UMASS/AMHERST  » 


315DbbODa'^DS447 


Historical  wSketches, 


F 

74 

C42T6 


REV.  ANSON   TITUS,  JR 


uti'iti.NTKi*  ii;oM  ^oci'in-KiiMiy  .km  u.nai. 


S()UTHBi:il)(^K  : 

I'lllXTEI)    r.V    (iKO.  M.  ^VIIITAKER,.  JOURXAF,    OFFIC 

1S11. 


DATE  DUE 

' ' 

trSAc 

pK^'IJ 

UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 
LIBRARY 


74 
C42T6r^ 

C5 


CHARLTON 


Historical  Sketches, 


l^.Y 


Rev.  ANSON   TITUS.  J R 


*• 


4-&> .--    — flgpif**. — 


ItKI'IIIX'J'KIi    VIIOM    S()UTIIi:RID(iE    .JOT'KXAI. 


SOTITHBIUIX^K  : 

IMIIXTKI)    r.V    (iKO.   M,  AVIIITAKEil,    .TOlTItXAF.   OFFICK 
1S7T. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
MASSACHUSEnS 

AMHERST,  MASS.   I 


CEMETERIES. 


F 


The  early  sellers  of  Charltou  were 
not  rich  but  hard  working.  They  came 
from  "down  the  coast"  while  full  of 
young  life  and  blood  to  encounter  the 
labors  of  the  frontier.  It  is  not  at  all 
strange  that  they  put  much  of  their 
time  upon  the  soil  they  were  tilling. 
In  regard  to  the  burial  places  of 
their  dead  Whittier,  in  his  poem  "The 
old  Burying  ground,"  spoke  a  genernl 
truth. 

"The  dreariest  ppot  in  all  the  land 

To  death  they  set  apart. 
With  scanty  grace  from  nature's  hand, 

And  noie  at  all  from  art." 

We   find  many   private  burial  places 
scattered    over   our   town.     The     peo- 
ple  had  not  the   money  for  extensive 
outlays  upon  graves.     Headstones  with 
inscriptions  were  infrequent  among  the 
poor  and   striving,  and   all   were  such. 
So  we   find   but  very  few  inscriptions 
prior  to  1800.     This  is  easily  accounted 
for:  it  was  n<~it   because  they  did   not 
have  a  mind   to   honor   the   places   of 
their  dead,   but  because  they   did   not 
have  the  means.    The  wealthier  ones  of 
the  community ,as  they  should,  did  some- 
thing to  indicate  the  places;  but  even  | 
this  remark  has  many  exceptions.  Even  ! 
those  abundantly  able  were   neglectful  ; 
in  this  matter.     The   earliest   recorded  I 
burial  we  find  to  be   in   1^44,  the   first  | 
one  in  Dresser  Hill  yanJ.    There  were, 
without  a  doubt,  earlier  burials  in  other  j 


yards,  for  this  town,  then  a  poriioti  of 
Oxford,  began  to  be  settled  some  years 
before  this  date. 

INDIAN   HILL  BURIiSL  PLACE. 

We  mention  this  at  the  outset  because 
of  the  aborigines  who  lived  here  before 
the  white  people.    This  hill  is  opposite 
of    the   residence   of    Elisha    Darling. 
There  have  been  from  time  to  time  evi- 
dences  in    the   shape   of  Indian   tools 
found,  telling  us  of  their  haunts  in  va- 
rious parts  of  the  town.    Well-authen- 
ticated  tradition  points  to  this  hill  as 
their  burial  place.    It  is  a  pretty,  grace- 
fully shaped  knoll,  and  one  which  they 
would  be  likely  to  select.    There  have 
been  no  Indians  residing  here,  to  speak 
of,  since  the   French   war;  hence  this 
burial  place,  if  such  it  was,  has  hardly 
been    used   since    the   j^ettling   of    our 
town.     Ou  the  farm  of  Elisha  Darling, 
on  the  east  side  of  Prospect  Hill,  is  the 
ruin    of   a  very   ancient   cellar,   which 
tradition  says  was  the  hut  of  an  Indian. 
It  is   in   his  woods,  some   twenty-five 
rods  from  the  railroad.  In  the  middle  of 
the  excavation  there  is  a  large  chestnut 
tree.     A  large  split  rock  is  near  by. 

THE   MCINTIIIE    CEMETERY. 

Few  may  know  of  this  burial  place  in 
Charlton.  It  is  but  a  few  rods  in  the 
rear  of  the  house  of  R.  B.  Dodge,  Esq., 
on  the  land    now  owned   by  Frank  L. 


Horn,  and  in  early  times  was  owned  by  I      the  ciia>^berry  meadow  yard. 
Obediiili  Mclntire,  from  whom  we  infer  !      This  yard  was  originally  the   burial 
it  received  this  local  name.     The  fami-  I  p  lace   of  four   or    five   families   in   its 


lies  in  this  section  a  hundred  years  ago 
were  mostly  Mclntires,  which  fact  may 
add  the  name  still  stronger.  There  are 
some  thirty  graves  at  this  spot,  from 
which  we  infer  it  was  a  public  burial 
place.  There  is  now  upon  it  a  young 
growth  of  timber — the  second  since  the 
,  1  lis  and  the  third  since  the  first  clear- 
ing unless  the  bodies  were  buned  in  the 
woods.     The  underbrush  is  at  this  time 


',  neighborhood.  It  is  situated  on  the 
west  road  to  Spencer  from  Charlton  De- 
pot, and  is  a  little  over  a  mile  from  the 
depot.  The  north  boundary  of  the 
yard  is  the  town  I'ue  between  Spencer 
and  Charlton.  The  land  when  it  began 
as  a  burial  place  belonged  to  enc  David 
Hammond.  It  afterwards  passed  into 
the  hands  of  his  son-in-law,  Simon 
Ward.      The    families    for    most    part 


so  dense  that  it  was  with  difficulty  that   buried  here  are  those  of  Charles  Lamb, 

we  found   the  location.     These  graves  |  Simon    Ward,    Ebenezer    White,   and 

are   simply  marked   with   rough   head-   Reuben  Newhall.     We  understand  that 

stones  without  any  inscription  whatever,  j  Mr.  Hammond  gave  the  ri^rht  of  burial 

of  name,  age,  or  date.     This  cemetery    after  it  had  been  used  for  a  long  num- 

we  can  rightfully  count  among  the  old-  i  ber  of   years   as    a  cemetery,  if   these 

est  of  thetoYU.     The  Mclntire  families  |  neighbors  would  put  a  wall   around  it. 

were  among  the  very  earliest  settlers  I  There  never  was  much   done  to  the  lot 

in  this  community,  and  without  doubt  j  u^^til   about   1830,  when   the  wall   was 

used  this  in  those  early  times.     In  only  !  erected  and  a  number  of  stones  placed 

a  few  more  years  vestiges  of  it  will  be  |  at  the  heads  of   the  graves.     Previous 

gone,  if  nothing  is  done  by  the  town  to  ;  to  this  time  there  wore  no  headstones, 

mark  this  resting  place  of  some  of  its    except   the   common   flat   field   stones. 

founders.  "^be  earliesi  marked  grave  denotes  1803, 

I  but  we  think   that   prior  to   that   time 
There  is  also  a  tomb  upon  this  same  i  ^^^^^^  ^^,,^  ,^^,.i^,^^     ^j  „^^,^„j  ^1,^,.^ 


farm,  in  the  rear  of  Mr.  Horn's  house, 
on  the  summit  of  Mclntire  Hill.  It 
must  have  been  built  prior  to  this  cen- 
tury. It  contains  several  bodies.  When 
the  farm  was  owned  by  Varanus  John- 
son, a  few  years  since,  for  private  grat- 
ification he  repaired  the  tomb  some 
at  his  own  expense.  It  will  have  to  be 
repaired  again  at  no  distant  day.  In 
the  absence  of  all  known  relatives,  it 
would  be  an  honorable  task  for  the 
town  to  take  it  in  charge. 


are  some  22  headstones,  and  are  visible 
something  like  a  dozen  unmarked 
graves.  Among  the  number  of  un- 
marked graves  are  those  of  the  orignal 
donor  of  the  land,  and  his  wife.  The 
yard  is  surrounded  with  pine  woods 
and  is  enlosed  with  a  stone  wall.  There 
are  pine  trees  not  a  few  within  the  en- 
closure. In  this  yard  are  buried  Eb- 
enezer White,  who  died  in  1813;  he 
was  one  of  the  early  Baptists  in  town, 
and  had  an  active  influence  in  sustain 


ing  his  church  at  the  Xorth  Side 
Charles  Lamb,  died  in  1843  at  the  ajje 
of  74;  Reuben  Newhall,  ilied  in  1858 
at  the  age  of  88. 

THE   MAJOR  DANIEL  WILLIAMS   LOT. 

This  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the 
west  side  of  the  reservoir  between  the 
Depot  and  City,  on  land  for  a  long  time 
owned  by  Major  Williams,  and  now 
owned  by  the  Hammond  brothers.  It 
was  made  a  burial  place  in  1791,  on  the 
death  of  a  young  daughter.  This  was 
the  only  grave  here  for  nearly  fifty 
years,  when  the  Major  and  his  wife 
were  buried.  The  headstone  records 
that  Mr.  Williams  died  July  6,  1838, 
aged  79  years,  and  that  his  wife,  Marcy, 
died  February  8,  1843,  aged  75  years. 
Major  Williams  was  a  public  spirited 
man  and  did  much  to  encourage  the 
schools  of  our  town.  He  was  a  great 
friend  of  the  youth,  and  is  said  to  have 
frequently  given  many  new  copper 
cents  to  the  boys  and  girls  who  proved 
worthy  by  study  and  deportment.  This 
gift,  though  small  in  value,  is  still  re- 
me inhered  by  our  older  cilizens.  This 
burial  place  is  surrounded  with  a  good 
wall  and  nothing  is  about  it  1o  mar  the 
mind  in  its  contemplation. 

THE    HARYLIN    TOWNE    YARD 

is  near  the  Depot  towards  the  City,  in 
a  small  clump  of  pine  trees.  There  is 
a  tomb  witliin  the  well  enclosed  yard, 
and  has  been  kept  in  good  repair.  In 
the  tomb  are  the  remains  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Towne,  anil  near  by  are  the  graves 
of  Daniel  Williams  and  his  wife  Mary 
and  their  daughter  Polly  Williams,  who 
died    in  1875.     Mr.  and   Mrs.  Willinmp 


were  the  parents  of  Mrs.  Towne.  Dan- 
iel Williams  died  in  1815,  and  was  first 
buried  on  the  west  side  of  the  road 
towards  (he  City  from  the  tomb,  a  few 
rods  up  the  side  hill.  When  this  yard 
was  made  his  remains  were  removed. 

Mr.  Towne  was  station  agent  at  the 
Depot  from  the  time  the  railroad  was 
built  (1839)  until  his  death  (1809).  He 
was  also  post-master,  express  agent, 
etc.,  which  brought  him  much  in  con- 
tact with  the  people.  In  these  posi- 
tions he  seems  to  have  given  satisfac- 
tion, if  one  is  to  judge  by  the  length  of 
service. 

THE   PUTNEY   YARD. 

This  yard  is  generally  known  as  the 
Barefoot  Corner  cemetery,  and  is  in 
school  district  No.  10.  The  original 
owner  of  the  land  was  Jonathan  Put- 
ney, who  gave  the  right  of  burial  to  his 
several  neighbors,  using  it  also  for  his 
own  family.  Mr.  Putney  died  in  1814; 
the  estate  was  then  divided,  the  home- 
stead falling  to  Mrs.  Jacob  Miller,  who 
a  few  years  after  the  death  of  Mr. 
Miller  (1817)  married  George  West. 
The  Putneys,  the  Millers,  the  Wests 
and  Searles  are  buried  here,  and  are  in 
one  way  and  another  relations  of  each 
other.  The  oldest  marked  grave  is 
1807.  There  are  nearly  one  hundred 
graves  yet  only  about  fifty  of  them 
have  headstones. 

The  Miller  and  West  families  have 
erected  a  fine  monument  here  which 
will  be  for  a  memorial  of  their  familes. 
In  this  yard  there  was,  a  half  century 
ago,  erected  a  tomb  by  three  families 
who  resided  in  that  vicinity.     The  own. 


ers  of  this  tomb  were  Elijah  and  Elna- 
than  Mclntire  (cousins),  and  Kathan- 
iel  Burden.  Their  families  were  placed 
in  it  until  some  over  twenty  bodies 
were  within  the  tomb,  when  the  de- 
scendants of  Elnathan  Mclntire  took 
the  remains  of  their  relatives  out  and 
buried  them  near  by.  The  others  still 
remain,  and  without  a  doubt  will  soon 
be  buried  and  the  tomb  which  for  a 
long  time  has  been  in  a  decaying  slate 
will  be  taken  down  and  the  place  lev- 
eled away. 

In  1835  Mrs.  George  West,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Mr.  Putney,  the  original  owner, 
gave  a  deed  of  this  lot  of  116  rods  of 
land  to  the  town,  with  the  right  of  way 
from  it  to  the  highway.  Jonathan  Put- 
ney was  in  the  revolutionary  war  and 
came  into  this  town  on  its  close,  from 
Salem.  Kathaniel  Burden,  whose  body 
was  buried  in  the  tomb,  was  also  in  the 
revolutionary  war,  and  drew  a  pension 
from  the  government  in  his  age.  He 
died  in  1849  at  the  extreme  age  of  97. 

THE  HARVEY  DRESSEK  YARD 

On  Dresser  Hill,  but  a  short  distance 
from  the  old  Dresser  homestead,  is  the 
burial  yard  of  Harvey  Dresser  and  fam- 
ily. Harvey  Dresser  died  February  8, 
1835,  aged  46  years;  his  widow  died  a 
little  over  a  year  after,  and  they  were 
soon  followed  by  two  sons  and  a  daugh- 
ter, who  had  nearly  reached  man  and 
womanhood.  The  Dresser  monument 
is  of  marble  with  an  urn  on  its  pinna- 
cle. On  this  monument  are  the  in- 
scriptions of  the  family.  In  the  same 
lot  is  the  grave  of  Major  Jerry  Merritt, 
a  brother  of  Mrs.  Dresser,  who  had  been 


in  partnership  with  Mr.  Dresser  some 
fourteen  years.  He  was  the  son  of 
Captain  Henry  Merritt,  and  died  in 
1835,  aged  39  years. 

Harvey  Dresser  is  still  remembered 
in  this  community.  He  was  an  active, 
public  spirited  man.  He  engaged  ex- 
tensively in  manufacturing  wagons, 
chaises,  etc.,  on  Dresser  Hill.  In  that 
day  there  was  a  large  business  carried 
on  in  that  vicinity,  but  even  in  his  last 
years  the  business  was  moving  away  to 
the  water  power  of  Southbridge  and 
the  large  manufactories  of  Worcester. 
Mr.  Dresser  once  owned  a  large  facto- 
ry in  Southbridge.  A  brief  sketch  of 
his  life  is  given  in  Ammidown's  Histor- 
ical Sketches,  Yol.  2,  also  an  engraving 
of  him.  This  yard  is  in  20od  order; 
the  fence  is  of  iron  with  stone  posts. 
The  deed  of  this  burial  lot  is  in  the 
possession  of  Henry  Willis,  a  nephew 
of  Harvey  Dresser,  now  living  in  Shel- 
burne  Falls,  Mass, 

THE   FITTS   BURIAL   YARD. 

This  yard  is  in  school  district  No.  6, 
toward  a  mile  south  of  the  school  house 
on  the  road  past  the  Advent  church, 
on  the  old  Caleb  Fitts  homestead,  now 
owned  by  Jeremiah  Hasgerty.  It  is 
the  burial  lot  of  Caleb  Fitts,  together 
with  some  relatives  and  neighbors. 
The  lot  is  about  30  by  50  feet,  and  some 
twenty-five  rods  from  the  road,  opposite 
of  the  house.  It  contains  thirteen 
graves,  five  of  which  are  marked  bj' 
headstones.  The  earliest  one  marked 
is  1831;  so  we  infer  that  it  was  not  far 
from  that  time  that  it  was  laid  out.  It 
is  well  surrounded  by  a  stone  wall,  but 


trees  and  bushes  have  s^rown  up,  owing 
to  the  moving  away  of  those  most  in- 
terested.   Those   stones   marked   show 
that  buried  here  are  Caleb  Fitts,  who 
died  February  C,  1841,  aged  85  years, 
[his  son  Caleb  was  burled  at  Charlton 
center];  Rachel,  wife  of   Caleb   Fitts, 
[her   maiden   name   was    Patch],   died 
November  14, 1831,  aged  08  years;  Try- 
phena  Hall,  died  September  16,1861, 
aged  86  years;  Eltheusia,  wife  of   Otis 
Darling,  a  daughter  of  Mrs.  Tryphena 
Hall,  died   December  1,  1866,  aged  56 
years;  Lois,  wife  of  Stepben  Belknap, 
[a  sister  of   Mrs.  Fitts],  died    May  17, 
1845,   aged   91    years;    this   stone   was 
erected  by  Timothy  Chase  of  Belfast, 
Maine,  a  son   by  a  previous  marriage. 
Among    those   whose    graves   are   un- 
marked, we  understand,  one  is  a  Leo- 
nard   Fitts,   and    another   a  Theodore 
Hall,  who  was  drowned  in  ©ne  of  the 
ponds  of  the  town. 

THE   MIXTER  BURIAL  YARD. 

The  Mixter  homestead  is  the  house 
now   owned   and   occupied    by   Albert 
Stevens.     The  Mixter  property  is  pos- 
sessed by  several  in  that  neighborhood 
The  burial  place  of  the  family  is  s«me 
ten  rods  from  the  h«use,  back  a  little 
from  the  road.     It  is  enclosed  by  a  wall 
and   some   trees  are  in   the  enclosure 
There  are   three    headstones  marking 
four  graves,  and  there   are   some   six 
graves  unmarked.     On  one  stone  is  in- 
scribed, Mr.  Ezra  Mixter  died  Decem- 
ber 30, 1829,  aged  75  years;  Azurbale, 
his  wife,  ditd  March  3, 1816,  aged  58 
years.    The  remaining  two  stones  mark 
the  resting  place  of  Rufus  Mixter,  Esq., 


and  his  first  wife.  They  are  inscribed, 
Rufus  Mixter  died  March  19, 1845,  aged 
61  years;  Anna,  wife  of  Rufus  Mixter, 
died  March  29,  1821,  aged  22  years. 
The  remaining  graves,  without  doubt, 
are  members  of  the  early  famihes. 
Rufus  Mixter,  Esq.,  was  a  prominent 
man  in  town  affairs,  holding  many  offi- 
cial positions  with  credit  to  himself  and 
the  town. 


THE   JOSEPH  MARTIN  YARD. 

The  Joseph  Martin  farm  is  on  the 
road  leading  south,  just  this  side  of 
Buffinsville,  something  like  a  half  mile. 
In  the  yard  upon  this  farm  there  are 
but  two  graves,  children  of  Joseph  and 
Mary  Martin,  who  died  in  1827  and 
1830  respectively.  There  is  a  tomb- 
stone at  each  grave.  These  graves  are 
to  the  northeast  of  the  ancient  house 
in  an  open  meadow,  some  fifteen  rods 
from  the  road. 

THE   CHASE  BURIAL  PLACE. 

This  burial  place  is  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  John  Davis,  known  as  the 
Fletcher  Farm,  a  mile  south  of  Par- 
ker School  House  on  the  Dudley  road. 
It  is  some  seventy-five  rods  from  the 
road,  back  of  the  house,  and  some  five 
rods  from  an  arm  of  the  Baker  Pond, 
upon  a  slight  knoll  of  ground.  This 
description  is  given,  and  should  any 
one  try  to  find  it  even  with  this,  he 
would  have  to  look  sharp  or  he  would 
miss  it.  If  there  ever  was  a  fence 
about  it,  it  is  now,  and  has  been  for 
long  years,  rotted  down.  The  mounds 
are  almost  obliterated  which  should  go 
to  show  that  it  was  ever  a  burial  place. 
From  inspection  we  should  say  it  was 


eighteen  feet  square  and  contains  some 
five  graves.  These  graves  are  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Chase  family,  who  were 
among  the  early  settlers  of  Charlton 
From  the  information  we  can  gain  we 
would  say  that  Eleazer  Chase  and 
wife,  their  son  Timothy,  who  lost  his 
leg  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  two 
children  of  this  Timothy  Chase,  were 
those  buried  at  this  place.  The  dates 
of  their  death  we  have  not  learned, 
nor  their  aj^^es,  but  they  must  have 
died  previous  to  this  century.  Just 
over  the  town  line  in  Dudley  is  a  Chase 
burial  place,  whom,  we  infer,  were  the 
children  of  this  Eleazer  Chase.  In  the 
deeds  given  of  this  place  there  is  a  res- 
ervation of  this  plot  of  ground,  but  in 
only  a  few  more  years  and  all  traces  of 
it  will  pass  from  view. 

THE   CAPT.  JONATHAN   TUCKER   YARD. 

This  burial  place  is  on  the  Spencer 
road  leading  north  from  Millward 
school  house  some  ten  rods  from  the 
highway.  In  this  yard  there  are  but 
two  graves,  one  in  memory  of  Mrs. 
Martha,  wife  of  Capt.  Jonathan  Tuck- 
er, who  died  Nov.  23,  1774,  aged  64 
years.  Near  by  is  that  of  Capt. 
Tucker,  though  there  is  no  marked 
headstone.  The  flat  is  surrounded  by 
a  wall  with  two  pine  trees  within  it. 
Capt.  Tucker  was  a  man  of  prominence 
in  town.  He  was  chairman  of  the  se- 
lectmen for  some  years  after  that  sec- 
tion called  the  "gore"  was  defiuitely 
fixed  to  the  town. 

THE   CAPT.   JESSE   SMITH   YARD. 

This  yard  was  formerly  a  part  of  the  i 
Jesse  Siiiith  property  now  owned  by  i 
Wm.  D.    Warren,  and   is  a  few  rods  ' 


from  the  highway  leadiug  to  Rochdale, 
near  the  jr»i  ^ture  of  the  road  leading 
to  Mr.  "Warren's  house.  Capt.  Smith 
gaye  the  yard  to  the  town  in  182G,  not 
long  before  he  died.  Mr.  Smith  died 
June  21,  1826,  a«^ed  68  years,  and  his 
widow  died  in  1848.  Capt.  Smith  was 
a  soldier  of  the  revolution.  Their  re- 
mains together  with  the  remains  of  his 
mother  are  within  a  well  sealed  tomb 
upon  this  land.  At  a  former  lime  there 
were  many  burials  here,  but  one  after 
another  the  bodies  have  been  removed 
so  that  now  but  fevi  remain,  and  some 
of  these  are  soon  to  be  removed.  The 
poor  of  the  town  whose  remains  are 
unclaimed  by  the  relatives  have  been 
buried  in  one  portion  of  the  yard,  since 
it  came  in  possession  of  the  land. 

This  Capt-  Smith's  family  had  no 
children  of  their  own,  so  they  brought 
up  one  Jesse  Smith  Warren  who  was 
heir  to  the  estate,  and  in  turn  our  es- 
teemed citizen,  Wm.  S.  Warren,  re- 
ceived it  from  his  father.  Capt.  Smith 
at  one  time  gave  a  bell  to  the  church  at 
the  North-side,  on  the  present  site  of 
the  school-house,  then  occupied  by  the 
Baptists  and  Uoiversaiists.  This  bell 
was  cracked  on  one  occasion  and  was 
re-cast;  which  bell  is  still  in  use  by  the 
school  at  that  place.  Mr.  Smith  also 
gave  a  generous  donation  to  the  Mill- 
ward  school  district  of  SIOOO,  the  inter- 
est to  be  used  for  repairing  the  build.- 
ing  and  for  giving  extra  schooling  to 
the  youth  of  that  district.  It  has  been 
enjoyed  by  the  youth  for  a  half-centu- 
ry and  no  doubt  has  done  much  bene- 
fit. 


CHARLTON    CITY    YARD. 

The  Charltou  City  yard  is  a  proprie- 
tary oDe.  The  citizens  in  that  locali- 
ty felt  the  need  of  a  new  yard  just  be- 
fore the  war,  hence  they  united  to- 
gether for  the  purpose  of  purchasing 
land  and  laying  out  lots.  The  compa- 
ny at  the  outset  composed  of  twenty- 
eight  citizens,  was  organized  May  20, 
ISoG  into  the  Charlton  City  Union 
Cemetery  company  under  the  law 
passed  in  legislature  Marcli  17,  1841. 
feimeon  Lamb,  Esq.,  as  justiceof  peace 
calkd  the  meeting  and  gave  lei^ality  to 
tlie  same.  Simeon  Lamb,  Esq  ,  was  the 
moderator  of  the  meeting  and  has  been 
of  every  annual  meeting  with  one  ex- 
ception. Washington  W.  While  was 
made  secretary  of  the  company,  which 
otRce  he  has  held  to  the  present  time. 
On  the  forming  of  the  company,  land 
was  purchased  of  Nathan  Walker,  and 
soon  laid  out  into  lots  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  trustees.  When  the  compa- 
ny was  well  under  way  they  answered 
to  the  call  of  the  public  in  building  a 
vault.  This  tomb  was  erected  by  one 
Horace  Prince  m  1859.  For  the  first 
year  or  two  Francis  Kyan  acted  as  sex- 
ton, since  then  however,  that  office  has 
been  filled  by  Seth  Carpenter.  In 
1864  the  company  received  by  the  will 
of  Benj.  Wallis,  the  sum  of  ;$300  to  be 
used  in  beautifying  the  place.  The 
company  is  well  organized,  and  it  is 
for  its  members  to  make  a  beautiful 
yard.  It  can  be  done,  but  will  take 
means  and  labor  to  do  it.  The  mem- 
bers of  it  can  well  afford  it.  It  will 
abundantly   repay  in   onl^^  a  few  years 


The  public   have   very  generously  pat- 
ronized this  cemetery  and  it  needs  but 
a  public  spirit  to  advance   its   interest 
farther.     The   first  burials  in  this  yard 
were  the  bodies  of  Waldo  Walls,  and  a 
Miss     Thayer,     who      were      interred 
the  same    day.     In    18G9  a  new  fence 
was    built  about    the  yard    which  ad- 
ded much    to    the    appearance  of  the 
I  place.     The   meetings  of  the  corpora- 
I  tion  have  ever  been  held  in  the  vestry 
^of  the  Methodist  church.    An  accurate 
survey  of  the  yard  was  made  in  1872  by 
R.  B.  Dodge,  Esq.     In  perusing  the  rec- 
ords  of   the   corporation   we   find  that 
many  have  ncjjlocted  their  financial  ob- 
ligations to  it.     This  ought  not  to  be; 
if  a  lot  is  taken,  the  lot  should  be  paid 
I  for  and  a  detd  given,  taken  and  record- 
j  ed  the  same  as  in  other  busines.-  (rans- 
I  actions.       The    corporation    no   doubt 
would  be  ill  thoui-^ht  of  if  they  prosecut- 
i  ed  their  clanns  once  in  a  while,  but  self- 
protection  may  call  for  it  in  time.     The 
following   is  the  list  of  trustees  for  the 
I  present  y.nr:  Simeon  Lamb,  David  11. 
!  Dodge,  Erastus  Winslow,  Jonas  Bemis, 
I  Elijali  K.  Carpenter,  Jeremiah  Xevvton, 
j  Charles  D.  White. 

The   following  are   the  ]5y-Laws   of 

1  l!ie    City    Union    Cemetoy    Company, 

|ad()i)te<l   Mf.iy  20,   1850,  they   being  re- 

i  ported    lo    tiie   corporalioi]    by  Simeon 

Lamb,  Esq.,  Wm.   B.  Olds  and  Hiram 

Willis — a   commit  lee   chosen    for   that 

purpose: 

AliTICLE   I. 

At  every  annual  meeting  of  the  corpora- 
tion the  owners  of  tlie  lots^duly  qualified  to 
vote  shall  elect  by  ballot  five  or  more  trus- 
tees— all  of  whom  sliall  be  members  of  the 
'  corporation ;  and  a  clerk  and  treasurer,  who 
'  shall  be  one  of  said  trustees,  to  hold  tlielr 


10 


respective  offices  for  one  year  and  until  an 
election  shall  liave  taken  place  in  which 
they  or  others  shall  have  been  chosen  and 
qualified ;  and  said  clerk  shall  be  sworn  to 
the  faithful  performance  of  the  duties  of  his 
office. 

Article  II. 

The  trustees  at  their  meeting  next  fol- 
lowing the  annual  meeting  of  the  corpora- 
tion, shall  elect  one  from  their  number  to 
be  president.  In  all  meetings  of  the  trus- 
tees and  corporation,  in  case  of  his  absence, 
the  senior  trustee  there  present  shall  pre- 
side ;  and  in  case  no  trustee  is  present  at  a 
meeting  of  the  corporation  a  moderator  i 
shall  be  chosen  by  ballot.  | 

Article  III.  ] 

The  trustees  shall  have  the  management, 
superintendence  and  care  of  the  property, 
expenditure  and  prudential  concerns  of  the 
corporation;  may  appoint  all  necessary 
agents,  and  shall  at  every  annual  meeting 
present  a  full  report  in  writing  of  the  state 
of  the  funds,  property,  and  affairs  of  the 
corporation,  with  such  remarks  and  recom- 
mendations as  they  may  think  useful. 

Article  IV. 

The  clerk  shall  record  in  a  book  to  be 
kept  for  the  purpose  the  doings  of  the  trus- 
tees' corporation  —  all  reports  in  writing 
presented  to  either  and  such  matters  as  he 
shall  be  directed  by  the  trustees  to  enter. 

Article  V. 

The  books,  papers,  money  and  all  other 
property  of  the  corporation  shall  be  deliv- 
ered over  by  the  trustees,  clerk  and  treas- 
urer respectively  to  their  successors. 

Article  VI. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  corporati(ni 
shall  be  held  in  the  month  of  March  or 
April  in  each  year,  at  such  time  and  place 
in  the  town  of  Charlton  as  the  treasurer 
for  the  time  being  shall  appoint.  Notice  of 
all  meetings  of  the  corporation  shall  be  giv- 
en by  the  clerk  by  a  notice  in  writing,  post- 
ed up  in  some  conspicuous  place  within  the 
City  school  district  in  Charlton,  seven  days 
at  least  before  the  time  of  holding  the 
same.  Special  meetings  of  the  corporation 
shall  be  called  by  the  trustees  upon' request 
made  to  them  in  writing  by  eight  or  more 
proprietors;  and  in  the  notice" thereof  the 
object  of  the  meeting  shall  be  expressed. 
At  all  meetings  five  proprietors  shall  con- 
stitute a  quorum. 

Article  VII. 

Every  deed  of  any  lot  or  part  of  a  lot  in 
the  cemetery  shall  be  recorded  by  the  clerk 
in  a  book  provided  for  the  purpose. 


Article  VIII. 

The  treasurer  shall,  ten  days  at  least  pre- 
vious to  the  annual  meeting  of  the  corpora- 
tion, report  in  writing  to  the  trustees  a  de- 
tailed account  of  all  receipts  and  expendi- 
tures of  the  investments  and  of  other  mat- 
ters connected  with  this  department. 
Article  IX. 

The  trustees  shall  fix  the  price  of  the  lots 
and  no  lot  shall  be  less  than  two  hundred 
square  feet  of  surface;  and  the  original 
deed  thereof  shall  be  executed  by  the  presi- 
dent of  the  proprietors,  who  is  hereby  au- 
thorized to  execute  the  same. 
Article  X. 

A  receiving  tomb  shall  be  erected  in 
which  may  be  placed  the  body  of  any  pro- 
prietor or  person  of  his  household,  and  oth 
ers  by  the  consent  of  the  trustees  whenever 
the  season  or  other  circumstances  render  it 
necessary  or  expedient.  But  the  body  shall 
not  remain  in  said  tomb  more  than  six 
months  without  a  special  permit  from  the 
trustees. 

Article  XI. 

Every  proprietor  of  a  lot  or  part  of  a  lot 
in  order  to  entitle  himself  to  the  privilege 
of  a  member  of  the  corporation  shall  pro- 
cure his  deed,  to  be  recorded  in  the  book  of 
the  corporation  and  signify  his  assent  to 
the  charter  and  by-laws  by  subscribing  his 
name  in  a  book  to  be  kept  by  the  clerk  for 
that  purpose. 

Article  XII. 

No  one  but  a  propiietor  of  a  lot  shall  be 
eligible  as  trustee,  and  the  removal  of  any 
j  I  rsoii  fi-om  the  town  of  Charlton  shall  va- 
cate his  office. 

Article  XIII. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  clerk  whenever 
directed  by  the  trustees  to  prosecute  any 
person  offending  against  the  act  of  incorpo- 
ration for  the  protection  of  cemeteries, 
passed  Feb.  23,  1841. 

Article  XIV. 

Vacancies  occurring  in  any  office  may  be 
filled  at  a  special  meeting  of  the  corporation. 
Article  XV. 

The  books  of  the  records  of  the  corpora- 
tion shall  be  considered  evidence  of  the  ti- 
tles and  rights  of  the  proprietors  so  far  as 
the  entries  therein  relate  thereto. 
Article  XVI. 

The  By-laws  maybe  altered  at  any  annu- 
al meeting  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the 
proprietors. 

DRESSER   HILL  RUBLIC    YARD. 

This  yard  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the 
town.      Thionoh  Hie  thonsjhifulncsis  of 


11 


an  older  citizen  we  are  permitted  to 
know  the  exact  date  of  its  beginning  as 
a  repose  for  the  dead.  The  first  grave 
was  that  of  James,  a  young  son  of 
Lieut.  John  Dresser,  who  died  in  May, 
1745.  Lieut.  Dresser  gave  the  riirht  of 
burial  in  this  lot  to  his  neighbors.  The 
stont!  which  is  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  first  grave  was  placed  by  one  Aaron 
Dresser,  a  great  irrnndson   of  the   oricr- 

o 

iual  donor,  wfio  knew  the  place  of  bu- 
rial and  the  date.  He  was  a  man  of 
historical  turn  of  mind,  and  bore  in 
mind  many  reminiscences  which  he 
received  from  those  older.  This  yard, 
however,  has  ever  been  private  proper- 
ty until  1868  when  George  Thompson 
gave  a  deed  of  it  to  the  town  and  a 
right  of  way  to  the  highway,  in  consid- 
eration that  the  town  wouid  maintain 


resting  place  of  many  of  the  pioueei- 
of  the  town  in  that  vicinity.  In  this 
yard  are  buried  the  Dressers,  the 
Bloods,  the  Chamberlains,  the  Cleav- 
lands,  the  Conants,  the  Clemences  and 
Fessendons,  and  many  others  of  less 
numerous  families.  Many  who  are 
buried  here  had  an  extensive  infiu- 
ence  in  the  tsarly  affairs  of  our  town, 
and  to  them  we  owe  much  for  their  en- 
ergy and  zeal  in  preparing  the  way  for 
us. 

Capl  Richard  Dresser,  the  "District 
clerk"  [Town]  for  some  years  at  the 
formation  of  the  town,  died  August  27, 
1797  aged  82  years.— Lieut.  John  Dres- 
ser the  owner  of  the  ground  died  Jan- 
uary 24,  1789  i!ged  73.— By  the  records 
of  the  town  we  learn  that  John  Dres- 
ser Jr.  was  chosen   "grave   digger  for 


the  fence  and  the  two  gates  leading  to    the  S©uth  burial  place"    March  7,  1770. 
it.     Prior  to  1868  it   was  in  the  deed  of  :  Also  at  the  town  meeting  held  April  14 
the  farm  now  owned  by  George  Thomp-    1808,  Moses  Dresser  Jr.  was  voted  sex- 
son  though    with   a  reservation    that  it    ton  for  the  South  burial  place, 
was  to  be  used  as  a  public  burial  place,     cHARLTON  north-side  cemetery. 


and  that  the   owner   was   permitted    to 
mow  the    grass,   or   pasture   the   same 


Concerning   the    origin   of  this  yard 
we  are  as  yet  in  the  dark.     It  is  on  the 


wiih    sheep,  or  such  stock  as  would  not    land    which    orjgnally   belonged  to  the 
deface  the   premises.     This  yard    com-    Wheelock    family,  who   settled    in  that 

section.  The  north  part  of  the  town 
was  quite  thickly  settled  at  an  early 
date,    hence   we  think   if  the   date  be 


prises  an  acre  of  ground.  It  was  an 
excellent  labor  in  Mr.  Thompson  to 
deed  it  to  the  town,  and  the   communi- 


ty at  laige   have    many  thanks   to  give  \  found  it  would  confirm  our 


Mr.  Thompson  for  the  manner  in 
which  the  yard  has  been  kept  for  some 
forty  years.  The  land  is  in  good  repair, 
it  is  pleasantly  situated,  though  it  may 
be  inconvenient  to  reach,  It  contains 
about  160  head  stones,  but  there  are 
manv  more  burials.     This  yard  is   the 


impression 


that  this  is  one  of  the  oldest  burial 
places  in  the  town.  The  land  may  have 
been  given  by  Jonathan  Wheelock,  and 
permissions  for  burials  continued  by 
Mr.  John  Wheelock,  who  died  in  1816. 
The  heirs  of  John  Wheelock  gave  fur- 
ther permission  for  the  enlarging  oi  the 


12 


yard,  and  it  was  only  a  few  years  since 
that  it  passed  into  the  full  possession  of 
the  town.  Since  that  time  an  enlarge- 
ment has  taken  place,  and  the  grounds 
repaired  and  beautified.  A  little  outlay 
of  time  and  means  every  season  would 
make  this  a  beautiful  yard.  Of  late 
3'ears  there  have  been  some  new  mon- 
uments which  have  added  much  to  the 
general  appearance.  Among  them  can 
we  especially  mention  the  Bacon  mon- 
ument, erected  by  the  descendents  of 
Deacon  Daniel  Bacon  who  died  in  1813. 
Also  the  Levi  Hammond  monument, 
and  the  one  in  the  family  lot  of 
our  citizen  Samuel  Rich.  In 
this  yard  are  buried  the  Lambs,  the 
Bacons,  the  Hammonds,  the  Stones, 
the  Wheelocks,  the  Davis',  the  Tuck- 
ers, the  Marbells,  i-he  Williams'  and 
Pratts.  And  in  the  back  part  of  the 
cemetery  there  are  many  unmarked 
graves.  If  we  could  only  know  the 
names  of  those  buried  there  no  doubt 
we  would  find  many  names  among  us 
of  to-day.  It  is  a  sorry  fact  that  so 
many  of  our  early  prominent  citizens 
have  unmarked  graves.  The  earliest 
marked  grave  we  found  in  the  yard 
was  that  of  Mrs.  Esther  Hammond,  m 
1762,  the  first  wife  of  Ebeuezer  Ham- 
mond, the  grandfather  of  our  aged  cit- 
izen Samuel  Hammond.  There  must 
have  been  earlier  burials  than  this. 
Capt.  Israel  Waters  who  died  in  1823, 
was  buried  here.  He  carried  on  quite 
an  extensive  tannery  at  the  ISTorth-Side. 
The  monument  over  his  remains  bears 
this  inscription:  "Erected  by  the  Trus- 
tees of  Leicester  Academy,  as  a  token 
of  respect  to  the  deceased  for  his  c^reat 


liberality  to  that  Institution."  David 
Dunbar,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  is 
also  buried  here.  He  was  quite  a  prom- 
inent man  in  all  church  work  of  this 
locality.  In  1825,  when  General  La- 
Fayette  made  his  tour  through  the 
States,  he  was  greeted  by  Mr.  Dunbar, 
an  old  friend  and  companion  in  arms, 
in  words  of  hearty  welcome.  Mr.  Dun- 
bar died  quite  suddenly  on  New  Year's 
eve,  1827,  at  the  age  of  80  years.  Eb- 
enezer  Davis  finds  a  resting  place  in  this 
cemetery.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he 
was  among,  if  not  the  wealtlnest,  land- 
holder in  Worcester  county.  He  was  in 
the  French  war,  and  during  a  portion 
of  the  Revolutionary  war  supplied  a 
portion  of  the  army,  at  various  points, 
with  beef.  He  was  an  intelligent  man 
and  ever  active  for  the  interests  of  the 
town.  He  held  many  offices  of  trust 
in  the  gift  of  the  people.  He  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Baptist  church 
at  the  North-Side;  and  in  1779,  being 
converted  to  Universalism,  became  one 
of  the  early  and  earnest  advocates  of  it 
in  Charlton.  Accounts  of  Mr.  Davis 
are  found  in  Ammidown's  Historical 
Sketch  of  Cnarlton,  and  in  George 
Davis'  Historical  Sketches  of  Stur- 
bridge  and  Southbridge.  He  died  in 
181G  at  the  age  of  79. 
Elder  James  Boomer,  so  long  pastor 

of  the  Baptist  church,  lies  buried  in 
this  yard.  He  became  a  resident  of 
Charlton  in  1804,  and  lived  here  until 
his  death  in  1837.  He  is  spoken  of  by 
aged  citizens  as  being  an  earnest,  hard- 
working man,  who,  to  gain  a  livelihood, 
laboi-ed  on  week  days  on  his  farm,  and 
c  i;  Sunday   jircaching  in    the  church    id 


13 


Xorth-Side  and  elsewhere.  His  dpugh- 
ter,  Mrs.  RuLimah  Hammond,  is  still 
living  at  the  Hammond  homestead  in 
town,  at  the  age  of  80  years.  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  inscription  upon  the  tomb- 
stone of  Elder  Boomer:  "Rev.  James 
Boomer,  died  February  25,  1837,  aged 
78  years.  The  gospel  that  he  preached 
to  others  was  his  support  in  sickness 
and  in  death.  To  my  children,  weep 
not  for  me,  but  weep  for  yourselves 
and  your  children. 

God  has  laid  up  in  Heaven  for  me 

A.  crown  which  cannot  fade, 
The  Righteous  Judgment  at  that  great  day 

Will  place  it  on  my  head  . 

THE  CHARLTON  CENTRE  YARD. 

From  a  vote  found  in  the  town  rec- 
ords ©f  March  12th  1764,  it  was  decided 
to  accept  an  acre  of  ground  "a  little 
south-east  of  Ebenezer  Mclntire's 
barn,"  for  a  yard  for  the  district  to  bury 
therein  their  dead.  This  yard  was 
needed.  This  hill  was  declared  by  a 
commission  selected  by  the  town  to  be 
the  centre  of  the  town;  and  the  citi- 
zens thought  it  proper  to  have  a  place 
in  close  proximity  to  bury  their  dead. 
The  other  yards  were  too  far  distant 
Mr.  Mclntire  had  previously  given 
land  for  the  town  church;  and  now 
again  he  was  prompt  in  being  generous. 
He  gave  land  at  the  outset  on  the  road 
leading  west  to  Rev.  Warren  Fiske's, 
just  in  the  rear  of  the  residence  of  Wm. 
A.  Weld.  The  first  grave  was  dug 
for  a  little  child,  a  baby  brother  of  Joel 
Parker,  who  died  some  years  since 
quite  aged.  When  the  time  came  to 
bury  the  child,  the  grave  was  filled 
with  water;  and  on  consultation  it  was 


thought  advisable  to  change  the  loca- 
tion; thereupon,  Mr.  Mclntire  offered 
another  acre  of  land  on  the  east  side  of 
the  road,  the  present  north-west  corner 
of  the  yard.  This  account  of  the  first 
grave  and  change  of  locations  came  to 
the  author,  from  Mr.  Albert  McKinstry 
of  Southbridge,  who  received  it  from 
one,  who  received  it  from  Mrs.  Madden 
a  sister  of  Ebenezer  Mclntire.  This 
first  thought  of  plot  of  ground  is  still 
quite  springy,  and  damp  though  culti- 
vation has  improved  it  much. 

The  original  acre  of  the  present 
cemetery  was  soon  filled  with  graves, 
and  in  1810  or  '12  an  enlargement  was 
needed.  The  original  road  from  Ox- 
ford came  directly  up  the  hill,  near  the 
road  from  Dudley  to  the  road  leading 
west  from  the  Congregational  church, 
hence  the  house  of  Mrs.  Clarissa  Case 
was  on  one  of  the  four  corners.  On 
the  north-west  corner  of  these  four, 
stood  the  tavern  of  Ebenezer  Mclntire, 
which  was  the  great  resort  for  all  the 
citizens.  For  some  reason,  prior  to 
this  century,  this  road  from  ihe  east 
was  changed,  bearing  to  the  south-west, 
and  entering  the  highway  leading 
south  near  the  plain  entrance  of  the 
present  cemetery.  To  enlarge  the 
cemetery  required  a  change  in  this 
road  once  more,  therefore  the  road  was 
closed  from  the  present  lower  entrance, 
and  the  highway  was  made  the  north 
boundary  of  the  original  acre,  as  it  is 
today.  The  cemetery  was  enlarged  on 
the  south  and  east  sides,  the  south 
boundary  being  near  the  main  front 
entrance.    The  remains  of  this   high- 


14 


way  through  the  cemetery  are  qnite 
Tisible  today.  T©  the  original  acre, 
there  were  two  entrances,  one  midway 
in  front,  and  the  lower  one  just  back 
of  the  first  tomb.  At  the  time  of  this 
enlargement,  there  must  have  been 
quite  an  interest  in  the  yard.  At  this 
time  Daniel  Alexander  erected  a  tomb 
for  his  wife,  who  had  died  two  or  three 
years  previous.  This  was  the  first 
tomb,  and  is  nearest  the  road.  Mr. 
Alexander  died  in  1831  aged  89.  The 
tomb  now  is  in  the  care  of  Mrs.  Joshua 
Vinton  of  Dudley.  In  1812  Mr.  Ruf us 
Wakefield,  a  brother  in  law  of  Gibbs 
Dodge,  Esq.,  took  a  contract  to  build 
eight  tombs  for  prominent  citizens  in 
town.  They  were  built  altogether  and 
in  the  same  manner  with  the  exception 
of  two  or  three  doors.  These  tombs 
belonged  to  Salem  Towue;  Wra.  S. 
Welds;  Gen.  John  Spurr;  John  Stev- 
ens; John  T^ich;  and  two  other  famil- 
ies whose  names  were  not  inscribed 
upon  the  doors.  A  few  years  later  on 
the  death  of  his  wife  in  1819,  Mr.  Gibbs 
Dodge,  built  another  tomb,  which 
makes  the  full  complement  of  tombs. 
That  one  owned  by  Wm.  S.  Welds  was 
sold  to  Harvlin  Towne,in  part,  for  the 
entombing  of  his  father  and  mother, 
though  he,  as  we  have  stated  built  for 
himself  a  tomb  near  the  depot. 

The  old  families  buried  in  the  yard 
at  the  Centre  are  numerous.  They  are 
among  the  upright  ones  of  the  town, 
We  can  name  the  Phillips,  the  iS'ich- 
ols,  the  Harwoods,  the  Mclntires,  the 
Townes,  the  Welds,  the  Marbles,  the 
Ryders,  the  Wards,   the   Burdens,   the 


Fays,  the  Spurrs,  the  Stones,  the  Fitts, 
the  Willards,  the  Meritts,  the  Good- 
ales,  the  Bartons,  the  Richs,  the 
Woodburys  the  Wakefields,  the  Stev- 
ens, the  Bulhns,  the  Comins  and 
Lamsons.  There  are  many  more  whom 
we  might  notice  but  whose  families 
were  not  so  numerous. 

Rev.  Caleb  Courtis  the  first  town 
minister  is  buried  in  this  yard.  He 
was  settled  over  this  town  from  1762  to 
1776.  He  was  quite  an  active,  public 
spirited  man,  and  in  those  spirited 
limes  often  came  in  contact  with  the 
minds  of  others.  After  the  dismissal 
from  the  pastorate  he  remained  a  citi- 
zen of  the  town  until  his  death  in  1802. 
During  the  Shay  rebellion  he  took  a 
Eealous  part,  and  we  understand  suf- 
fered a  brief  imprisonment  in  conse- 
quence. He  represented  the  town  in 
the  provinci  il  congress  at  Watertown 
in  1775. 

One  fact  is  strange  that  after  the 
generous  deeds  of  Eijcnezer  Mclntire, 
we  who  are  enjoying  the  blessings  of 
our  common  and  other  gifts  of  his 
are  not  permitted  to  know  the 
whereabouts  of  his  resting  place.  The 
tradition  among  his  descendents  is  that 
it  was  in  the  first  tier  of  graves  front- ' 
ing  the  road  leading  to  the  south,  act- 
ing upon  this,  his  descendents  have 
staked  out  some  unmarked  graves  and 
an  unclaimed  lot,  as  the  one  most 
probably  which  belonged  to  the  Eben- 
ezcr  Mclntire  family.  And  after  this 
warning  has  been  give  for  a  sufficient 
time,  and  the  plat  is  not  claimed  posi- 
tively by  any  one  else,  we  learn  that  a 


15 


monument  will  be  erected  to  the  mem- 
ory of  the  donor  of  the  cemetery  and 
the  common. 

SOME  OF  CHARLTON'S  EPlTAniS. 

There  are  in  the  various  cemeteries 
of  the  town  epitaphs  of  which  we  will 
make  record.  We  claim  for  them  no 
exceptional  merit;  we  may  say  they  are 
such  as  can  be  found  in  almost  all  an- 
cient yards.  These  epitaphs,  I  pre- 
sume, were  designed  to  express  a  sen- 
timent found  in  the  heart  of  the  one 
it  commemorates,  or  it  was  given  to  in- 
spire a  hope  in  the  reader  and  passer- 
by, and  often  we  may  well  think  to  give 
utterance  to  the  theology  of  the  fam- 
ily. There  are  many  beautiful  designs 
on  the  tombstones  here  in  Charlton  as 
elsewhere.  The  rosebush,  the  broken 
branch,  the  doves,  the  upward,  indexed 
hand  and  finger,  all  cf  these  have  a 
meaning,  and  offer  plentiful  sugges- 
tions to  the  frequenter  of  the  lepose  of 
the  dead.  They  should  make  us  more 
thoughtful  regarding  our  life,  and  more 
hopeful  in  the  God  "who  giveth  and 
who  taketh  away."  We  cannot  give 
all  the  epitaphs — we  omit  many 
Some  of  those  given  are  found  in  mauy 
places  elsewhere,  and  others  are  purely 
original.  As  this  kind  of  literature, 
by  virtue  of  its  inscriptions,  become 
public,  common  property,  we  can  quote 
with  entire  freedom: 

Behold,  and  see  as  you  pass  by, 
As  you  are  now,  so  once  was  I, 

As  I  am  now  so  you  must  be, 

Prepare  for  death,  aud  follow  me. 

Rest,  loved  one,  rest,  thy  suffering  is  o'er, 

Thy  parting  look  is  given 
We  see  thee  here  on  earth  no  more, 

But  thou  dost  rest  in  Heaven 


Ye  moin-ning  friends,  approach  your  God, 

His  grace  can  give  relief, 
The  hand  which  wounds,  can  also  heal 

And  soften  every  grief. 

Wliat  art  thou,  death,  that  I  slioukl  fear 

The  shadow  of  a  sliade, 
What's  in  thy  name  to  meet  the  ear 

Of  which  to  be  afraid  ? 
Thou  art  not  care,  thou  art  not  pain, 

But  thou  art  rest  aud  peace; 
'Tis  thou  canst  make  our  terrors  cease 

I  shall  know  her  there.  Oh !  it  cannot  be 
In  the  Spirit  Land  she'll  be  lost  to  me; 
That  the  holiest  ties  that  God  has  given 
To  bind  us. here,  will  be  lost  in  Heaven. 
My  star  of  faith  shines  clear  and  fair, 
When  I  look  above  I  shall  know  her  there, 
Though  the  angel's  robe  and  crown  she'll 

wear, 
By  the  song  she  sings  I  shall  know  her  there 

Lei  faith  and  hope  assuage  your  grief. 
And  be  your  heai  Ls  resigned, 

For  all  who  wait  upon  the  Lord 
Shall  consolation  find. 

Shed  not  for  me  the  bitter  tear, 
Nor  give  the  heart  to  vain  regret, 

'Tis  but  ilie  casket  that  lies  here. 
The  gem  that  filled  it  sparkles  yet. 

Naked  as  from] the  earth  we've  come 

And  crept  to  life  at  first, 
We  to  the  eartb  return  again 

And  mingle  with  the  uus.. 

Though  greedy  worms  devour  my  skin 

And  gnaw  my  waiting  flesh, 
When  God  shall  build  my  bones  again 

He'll  clothe  them  afresii. 

Mourn  ye,  dear  ones,  for  the  spirit  that's 

gone, 
And  would  ye  reclaim  it  thus  hastening  on? 
No!  happier  far  is  the  brother  that's  gone 
Than  the  spirits   detained  in  a  dark  world 

like  this. 
Then  with  hearts  fixed  on  Heaven, 
Oh,  may  we  prepare 
To  meet  him  in  glory  and  happiness  there. 

Gieat  God,  I  owe  thy  sentence  just. 

And  nature  must  decay 
I  yield  my  body  to  the  dust 

To  dwell  with  fellow  clay. 

The  following  is  on  the  gravestone 
of  two  wives  erected  by  the  surviving 
husband.  Without  critic'sm  we  will 
I  say  it  found  its  way  ito  the  "Editor's 
I  Drawer"  of  Harper''s  Monthly  a  num- 
'  ber  of  years  ago: 


u 


As  I  pass  by 

With  grief  I  see, 
Here  lies  the  mates 

That's  took  from  me. 

In  the  cemetery  at  the  centre  of  the 
town  ia  buried  John  Adams,  or  we  may 
give  the  name  by  which  he  is  known 
oyer  the  land,  "Grizzley"  Adams.  He 
was  a  native  of  Charlton,  though  for 
long  years  he  was  in  the  extreme  West, 
where  he  became  famous  for  his  bear 
hunting  and  bear  taming.  P.  T.  Bar- 
num  at  last  secured  him,  and  Mr. 
Adams  and  his  bears  joined  the  great 
museum.  There  is  an  account  of  him 
in  the  "Life  of  P.  T.  Baruum,"  though 
Mr.  Barnum  gives  his  name  incorrect- 
ly. He  died  in  1860,  aged  48  years. 
On  the  tombst©ne  erected  there  is 
sculptured  a  man,  evidently  designed 
for  Mr.  Adams,  in  a  hunting  suit,  sur- 1  served  the  town  as  sexton.  The  hearse 
rounded  by  bears.  The  epitaph  upon  !  which  was  cast  aside  by  this  new  one  it 
the  stone  is  from  "The  Funeral  Tree  of  '  still  dimly  remembered  by  our  aged 
Sokokis,"  a  poem  by  Mr  Whittier, ;  people.  It  was  simply  two  wheels  with 
though  it  has  been  slightly  altered.  It  \  two  loiii:  shafts,  drawn  by  a  single  horse 
reads  as  follows: 


1810  we  find  this  vote:  "Voted  to  grant 
the  petition  of  Comins  Litchfield  and 
others  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  new 
hearse,  and  a  suitable  harness  for  said 
hearse,  and  a  suitable  building  for  the 
safe  keeping  of  the  same,  and  likewise 
to  procure  a  new  burying-cloth."  Capt. 
Thos.  Farnum,  Capt.  Free  Comins  and 
Maj.  Salem  Towne  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  purchase  the  same.  The 
new  hearse  house  which  was  at  this 
time  voted,  stood  upon  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  cemetery  at  the  Center, 
and  ou  the  plot  of  ground  now  held  by 
the  family  of  Capt.  Comins  Litchfield. 
It  was  removed  from  this  place  to  a 
spot  farther  south,  and  the  spot  upon 
which  it  stood  was  secured  by  Mr- 
Litchfield,  who  had  so  long  faithfully 


And  silent  now  the  hunter  lays, 
Sleep  on,  brave  tenant  of  the  wilds, 
Great  Nature  owns  her  simple  child, 
And  Nature's  God,  to  whom  alone 
The  secrets  of  the  heart  are  known, 
In  silence  whispers  that  his  work  is  done 

At  a  town  meeting  held  May  2, 1808, 
Comins  Litchfield   was  elected  sexton 


whose  harness  consisted  of  one  of  those 
large  English  saddles,  with  chains  sus- 
pended over  it  to  hold  up  these  shafts 
Upon  the  axle  and  shalts  was  an  open 
platform  on  which  the  colfin  was  car- 
ried. After  the  coflSn  was  once  upon 
the  platform  and   securely  fastened,  a 


for  the  middle  of  the  town,  for  the  year  black  pall  or  burying  cloth  was  thrown 
ensuing.  Mr.  Litchfield  held  this  of-  j  over  it  and  pinned  about  the  head, 
fice  for  twenty-six  years,  ending  with    The  use  of  the  burial-pall  was  contin- 


sickness  and  death.  Mr.  Litchfield 
made  all  the  cofiins  of  the  town  in  his 
day  and  had  the  oversight  of  most  all 


ued  for  some  years  after,  as  a  new  one 
was  purchased  by  order  of  this  same 
town   meeting.    The  new  hearse  here 


the  funerals.  He  was  a  man  much  |  spoken  of  we  infer  to  be  the  one,  the 
liked  by  the  citizens  and  was  well  fitted  !  boay  of  which  is  used  at  present  on 
by  his  genial  aud  sympathetic  ways  for  j  runners,  though  it  has  undergone  many 
this  oflice.    At  the   March  meeting  of  I  repairs. 


17 


Upon  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Litch- 
field, Leonard  Towne  was  selected  for 
the  position  of  sexton,  which  position 
he  held  for  twenty-five  years,  ceasing 
in  1859  when  age  made  it  difiicult  for 
him  to  expose  himself  in  all  kinds  of 
weather.  Since  that  time  the  office  has 
been  held  by  Thompson  Mclntire  and 
others.  At  present  Chauncey  Nickols 
is  serving  well  and  faithfully  the  public 
in  this  capacity.  TVhile  Mr.  Mclntire 
was  sexton  the  town  needed  a  larger 
and  better  hearse  house — having  pur- 
chased a  much  better  hearse — and 
built  the  present  hearse  house;  and  the 
old  one  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Mclntire, 
who  conveyed  it  to  Charles  E.  Morse, 
and  is  now  used  as  a  wood-sued  to  one 
of  his  tenant  houses. 

THE    COST     OF  FUNERALS. 

/  We  have  seen  the  private  account 
/  book  of  Comins  L  ichfield,  sexton  of  the 
town  from  1808  to  1834.  He  not  only 
was  sexton  but  he  had  the  labor  of 
making  most  all  of  the  coffins  and  su- 
perintending almost  everything  about 
the  funerals  of  his  time.  This  private  ac- 
count reveals  almost  the  entire  expense 
of  the  funerals  of  those  days.  Com- 
paring the  cost  of  funerals  then  with 
the  cost  af  to-day  we  find  quite  a  differ- 
ence. The  wealthiest  men  of  our  town, 
though  able  to  purchase  the  best  mate- 
rials did  not  have  costly  funerals  com- 
pared with  our  funerals  of  to-day,  yet 
theirs  were  the  costliest  known  in  our 
communities.  Without  mentioning  the 
names  we  can  say  that  the  expenses  of 
the  funerals  of  our  wealthiest  men, 
dying  between  the  above  dates,  did  not 


exceed  sixteen  dollars.  This  includes 
the  very  best  kind  of  a  coffin,  which 
means  a  "cherry"  coffin,  with  the 
initials  and  age  of  the  deceased  placed 
upon  the  lid  by  means  of  brass-headed 
nails;  the  use  of  the  horse  to  draw  the 
hearse,  the  digging  of  the  grave  and 
pay  of  the  sexton  for  his  time.  This 
truly  seems  a  small  sum  compared  with 
the  expenses  of  to-day.  This  account 
book  is  in  the  keeping  of  Mrs.  Rachel 
M.  Blackman,  a  daughter  of  Sibley 
Barton,  the  second  wife  of  Captain 
Comins  Lichfield,  who  is  still  living, 
though  at  an  advanced  age,  in  Charlton. 

THE  MORTALITY  OF  CHARLTON. 

The  greatest  number  of  deaths  in 
any  one  year  was  fifty-four,  in  the  year 
1813.  There  was  a  "prevailing  fever" 
in  our  midst  which  carried  off  many  of 
our  best  people;  this  disease  is  describ- 
ed by  our  older  people  to  be  short,  the 
sickness  rarely  being  more  than  a  week 
and  in  almost  all  cases  provedfatal.  It 
was  in  many  respects  like  the  pneumo- 
nia of  to-day.  The  least  number  of 
deaths  within  this  century  was  in  1876, 
the  number  being  only  16;  in  1820 
there  were  only  18,  and  the  same  in 
1829.  We  have  examined  the  records 
of  the  town  for  the  past  34  years,  from 
that  time  which  the  State  more  rigidly 
enforced  the  keeping  of  records;  in 
these  34  years  there  has  been  1069 
deaths,  being  an  average  of  31  plus;  in 
the  year  1863  the  number  was  47,  in 
which  year  a  good  number  of  children 
died  of  diphtheria,  and  several  died 
from  wounds  received  in  the  army;  the 
year  previous  diphtheria  raged  some- 


18 


what.  The  year  1876  was  the  healthiest, 
judging  from  the  mortality  record. 
This  period  reaches  from  1844  to  1877 
inclusive,  and  out  of  the  1069  who  died 
300  reached  the  age  of  70,  or  nearly  1 
out  of  every  4  passed  their  seventie  h 
birthday;  there  have  been  140  who  have 
reached  their  80th  year,  or  1  out  of 
every  8  passed  their  80th  birthday; 
there  were  22  whose  years  were  above 
90,  or  1  out  of  every  50.  We  have  not  i 
found  any  who  had  reached  their  100th  j 
year,  though  there  might  have  been  in 
those  years  in  wiiich  we  have  not  thor- 
oughly searched;  the  oldest  whom  we 
found  was  Mrs.  Bethany  Keynolds, 
aged  98  years.  There  was  one  George 
Pike,  a  great-uncle  of  Stillman  Pike, 
who  reached  the  age  of  97  years  and  10 
months,  and  died  in  1850;  there  was  an- 
other, Nathaniel  Burden  (a  son,  Cyrus, 
is  still  living  at  an  advanced  age)  who 
died  in  1849,  aged  97  years  and  10 
months.  These  three  are  the  oldest. 
In  1875  there  were  31  deaths,  and  the 
average  age  was  66  years  and  7  months. 
The  ages  of  the  residents  average  good, 
which  shows  the  healthfulness  of  the 
town,  and  we  have  no  reason  to  fear  if 
we  care  for  the  health  of  the  mind  and 
soul  as  God  cares  for  tae  healthfulness 
of  our  bodies  by  giving  us  the  free  air 
of  these  hills. 

THE    SPURP.   FUND. 

Our  burial  yard  at  CharUon  Centre 
has  been  privileged  to  enjoy  the 
thoughtfulness  of  one  of  Charlton's  no- 
blest sons.  In  the  early  years  of  the 
war  Thomas  Jefferson  Spurr,  in  com- 
mon with  many  of  our  land,  joined  the 


army  to  bear  its  privations  and  suffer 
its  hardships  that  the  honor  and  unity 
of  our  nation  might  be  preserved.  He 
was  a  son  of  Samuel  D.  Spurr,  who 
died  jS'ov.  3,  1842,  aged  42,  and  a  grand- 
son of  Gen.  John  Spurr — who  held  a 
prominent  influence  in  the  interests  of 
our  town.  Ycung  Spurr  was,  also,  a 
grandson  of  Dr.  Dan.  Lamb,  so  long  a 
physician  of  Charlton.  A  further  ac- 
count of  this  young  man  is  found  in 
"  U^orcester  in  the  War,"  an  excellent 
book  of  local  reminiscence.  The  in- 
scription upon  the  tomb  stone  is, 
"Thomas  Jefferson,  only  son  Samuel 
D.  and  Mary  A.  Spurr,  1st  Lieut.  15Lh 
Reg.  Mass.  Vol.  Wounded  in  baitle  of 
Antietam,  Sent.  17;  died  at  Ilagars- 
town,  Sept.  27,  1862,  aged  24  years." 
The  remains  of  Mr.  Spurr  were  secu^-ed 
and  are  now  repoiiug  in  the  lot  of  the 
family.  The  selectmen  of  Charlton 
were  notified  of  the  will  and  its  condi- 
tions by  the  brother-in-law  of  Mr. 
Spurr,  Senator  Geo.  P.  Hoar.  The 
town  accepted  the  fund,  the  interest  of 
which  has  been  wisely  expended  ac- 
cording to  the  condition  of  the  will.  It 
would,  however,  add  much  to  the  credit 
of  the  town  to  appropriate  moneys  once 
in  a  while  to  further  the  same  general 
design  of  this  fund.  The  following  is 
that  portion  of  the  will  which  refers  to 
this  fund: 

I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  town  of  Charl- 
ton in  Massachusetts  the  sum  of  five  bun- 
dled dollai'S,  on  coiKlition  that  the  same  be 
invested  carefully  and  that  the  income 
thereof  shall  annuiJly  be  si3ent — first  in 
taking  caie  of  the  lot  in  the  burying  groand 
in  the  centre  of  said  town  where  the  body 
of  my  fa. her,  (Sanuel  D.  Spurr)  was  bu- 
ried, so  that  the  grass,  trees,  stones,  and 
fence  be  kept  in  good  repair  and  condition ; 


11) 


— second,  if  there  is  any  surplus,  that  the 
same  shall  be  used  for  making  imp/ovo- 
ments  and  for  ornamenting  liie  bu'-ying 
g'ounds; — third,  that  any  surplus  remain- 
ing shall  be  used  for  improving  and  o'-na- 
menUng  the  common,  so  called,  in  the  cen- 
tre of  said  town. 

THE    IIOBBS   BURIAL  PLACE. 

The  discussion  of  the  cemeteries  of 
Charlton  has  brought  to  light  a  cemetery 
which  the  author  of  these  sketches  did 
not  know.  It  is  in  the  northwest  cor- 
ner of  Charlton.  Mr.  Amasa  Hobbs, 
who  has  taken  great  interest  in  these 
sketches,  writes  the  author  as  follows 
regarding  it: 

"The  land  was  given  by  Josiah  Ilobbs 
in  the  year  1817,  expecting  the  Univer- 
salibt  church,  which  now  stands  in  the 
edge  of  Brookfield,  would  be  built 
there,  or  quite  near;  but  owing  to  a 
disagreement  the  church  was  not  built 
there,  and  consequently  there  were  but 
six  buried  on  the  grounds,the  following 
are  the  names;  Lydia  Hobbs,  wife  of 
Kalhan  Hobbs,  and  mother  of  Josiah 
Hobbs,  who  died  September,  1817; 
Barnwells  and  Lucena  Hobbs  died  Sep" 
tember,  1817, children  of  Josiah  Hobbs; 
and  Charles  and  Warren  Hobbs,  vrho 
died  in  May,  1822,  children  of  Israel 
Hobbs;  no  headstones  were  ever  placed 
over  the  graves.  The  land  is  nowosvn 
eJ  by  Henry  Stone,  who  lives  at  the 
four  corners  just  south  of  the  Podunk 
church.  To  find  this  burial  place  you 
turn  in  the  field  just  south  of  Henry 
Stone's  house,  and  go  east,  but  I  doubt 
if  an}'  one  not  acquainted  with  the  place 
could  find  the  spot." 

AN  OBITUARY. 

We  give  here  an  obituary  of  one  of 


the  early  families  of  Charlton;  it  will 
prove  of  interest  to  the  many  members 
of  this  scattered  family.  We  hare 
copies  of  other  obituaries  of  prominent 
persons  in  the  long  ago  times,  but  at 
this  writing  we  are  unable  to  find  them. 
This  obituary  is  from  the  Worcester 
Spy  of  March  3,  1813.  Deacon  Bacon 
was  prominent  in  the  work  of  the  Bap- 
tist church,  he,  wiLli  his  wife,  having 
united  themselves  to  this  church  on 
February  26,  17G7;  they  were  the  first 
who  were  received  into  the  church 
under  the  "new  form"  namely,  "the 
laying  on  of  hands"  by  the  deacons 
was  omitted  from  the  service.  His  son 
Deacon  Daniel  Bacon,  Jr.;  died  in  183-4 
and  was  buried  at  the  Centre,  while 
Deacon  Daniel  Bacon,  Sr.,  is  buried  at 
Xorthside. 

"In  Chavl;,oa,  on  the  10th  ult.,  Mrs 
Mary  Bacon,  aged  75  years,  and  within 
fort3'-four  hou''s  afterwards,  Deacon 
Daniel  Bacon,  her  husband,  aged  77 
years,  of  the  e])idemic  which  pervades 
in  that  place.  Their  remains  weie  Car- 
rie 1  to  the  meeting  house  the  Sabbath 
following,  where  a  discourse  was  de- 
liveiedby  Elder  James  Boomer,  from 
Luke  23-xxv'ii.  They  were  conveyed 
away  and  buried  in  one  grave.  They 
were  both  professors  of  the  religion  of 
Chiist  and  maintained  a  confident  and 
well  supportedcharaCLcr  of  piety.  Their 
faith  being  lively  and  operative,  was 
productive  of  good  works  and  adorned 
every  branch  ^©f  their  duty;  without 
saying  more  it  may  be  remarked  that 
their  lives  furnished  the  sl''ougest  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  the  reality,  importance 
and  divinity  of  religion;  the  strongest 
unbeliever  could  noL  look  upon  them  in 
their  last  sickness  and  disease,  their 
christian  calmness  and  submission  with- 
out sighing  the  wish:  'Let  me  die  the 
death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last 
end  be  like  his.'  " 

It    is    thus    that    we    have    briefly 
sketched  the  burial  places  of  Charlton. 


So 


We  do  not  claim  that  we  have  stated 
all  which  could  be  stated,  but  we  have 
published  this  much  that  nothing  which 
we  have  gathered  may  be  lost.  It  has 
been  a  pleasure. 

Charlton  has  a  history— it  only  needs 
to  be  gathered.  This  can  be  done,  lit- 
tle at  a  time,  and  at  no  distant  day 
many  incidents,  dates  and  reminis- 
cences would  hare  been  preserved. 
This  article  is  the  closing  one  of  the  se- 
ries upon  cemeteries,  though  as  we 
have  other  notes  we  shall  continue 
these  sketches  for  a  few  weeks  longer. 
The  remaining  ones  may  be  fragmen- 
tary, yet  we  trust  they  will  be  interest- 
ing to  the  citizens  of  Charlton. 

In  closing  this  series,  howeyer,  per- 
mit a  few  suggestions:  Time  surely 
wastes  the  world  away.  Less  than  sev- 
enty-five years  have  passed  since  the 


tombs  in  our  town  were  built — solid 
and  endui'ing,  the  builders  thought; 
yet,  where  are  they  today.  My  word  is 
— don't  erect  any  more  tombs.  The 
wasting  hand  of  time  wears  even  the 
best  cut  stone;  therefore,  obtain  good, 
solid  substantial  stones  and  place  them 
above  the  bodies  of  your  relations.  If 
you  strive  for  fancy  carvint;  and  orna- 
mentation, the  time  will  come  when  re- 
grets will  be  yours  and  those  who  fol 
low  you.  Have  such  a  care  for  your 
lots  that  being  left  alone  they  will  be 
able  to  care  for  themselves;  for  the 
world  too  soon  grows  careless  over  the 
remains  of  earlier  generations.  Re- 
member the  dead — not  for  grief  or  sor- 
row, but  to  prepare  our  way  for  the  way 
marked  out  for  the  steps  of  all  wearing 
mortal  forms. 


WF-JITNEyS 

History  of  Chaf^vLton, 

WITH  NOTES. 


[We  republi:<h  a  history  of  wliich  the 
original  edition  is  quite  scarce  and  val- 
uable. The  history  is  of  the  various 
towns  in  Worcester  county,  and  was 
written  by  Peter  Whitne}',  A.  M.,  min- 
ister of  the  gospel  in  North  borough,  in 
said  county;  printed  at  Worcester,  by 
Isaiah  Thomas  in  1793.  The  boek  is 
full  of  reminiscence  and  of  historical 
value.  We  reprint  that  part  relating  to 
Charlton,  with  brief  notes:] 

This  town  was  taken  wholly  [1]  from 
Oxford,  and  was  the  westerly  part 
thereof.  It  was  incorporated  Novem- 
ber 2d,  1754,  and  then  received  its 
present  name.  [2] 

As  much  of  tlie  land  in  Charlton  lies 

in  the  hands  of  the  original  proprietors, 

it»  settlement  was  greatly  retarded  for 

many  years.    However,  in  April,  1761, 

the   Congregational  church  here   was 

imbodied,   and   the  Kev.  Caleb  Curtis 

1. — Tlierr  is  a  section  of  Charlton  once 
called  the  "gore"  which  did  not  belong  to 
Oxford ;  it  -was  ceded  to  Chariton  in  1757. 

2. — It  is  supposed  that  this  town  takes  its 
name  from  Sir  Francis  Charlton,  a  member 
of  the  Privy  Chamber,  England,  about  the 
time  this  section  was  set  off  from  the  town 
of  Oxford,   in   1754:  or  else  it  derived  its 


was  solemnly  ordained  to  the  work  of 
the  gospel  ministry  in  this  place  on  the 
loth  of  October,  1761.  He  continued 
their  pastor  fifteen  years,  and  was  dis- 
missed from  his  office  by  a  mutual 
council  October  29th,  1776.  The  people 
remained  destitute  of  a  settled  pastor 
upwards  of  six  years,  until  January 
8th,  1783,  when  the  Rev.  Archibald 
Campbell  was  installed  their  pastor. 
This  Mr.  Campbell  was  ordained  pastor 
of  the  church  and  congregation  in 
Easton,  in  the  count}-  of  Bristol,  on 
the  17th  of  August,  1763,  where  he 
continued  nineteen  years,  being  dis- 
missed from  his  pastoral  relation  to  that 
I  people  August  11th,  1782.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell continued  in  the  pastoral  office  in 
Charlton  until  April  9th,  1793,  when 
he  was  dismissed  by  council,  at  his 
special  request. 
There  is  a  large  Anabaptist  church 

name  from  King  Charles.  Charlestown 
was  thus  named;  and  to  avoid  having  let- 
ters and  packages  missent  and  other  incon- 
veniences caused  the  citizens  of  Charleston 
(S.  C.)  dropped  the  "w"  which  gave  ihem 
their  present  name.  It  might  have  been  in 
such  way  that  other  letters  were  dropped 
and  gave  us  our  name.  However  the  name 
came  we  are  not  ashamed  of  it. 


22 


and  society  in  this  town,  but  at  present  | 
they  are  destitute  ef  a  settled  minister,  | 
as  well  as  the  Congregational  cburch  j 
and  society.  I 

V\^e  proceed   to  a  topographical   de- 
scription of  Charlton. 

This  town  was  not  in  high  repute  at 

first,  and  was  thought  by  some  to  be  j 

hardly  worth  settlino-  upon;    as  it  was! 

very   rough    in    its   natural   state   and 

hard  to  subdue.     But  such   land  is  al-  | 

most  always  found  to  be  strong  and  to 

wear  well.     This   being   the   case  with 

Charlton,   fr©ni   small  beginnings  and 

an  inconsiderable  tigure,  it  has  risen  up 

ia  the  s^ace  of  thirty  or  forty  years,  to  I 

renown  among  the  towns  of  the  county. 

It  is  computed  to  be  nearly  seyen  miles  \ 

square,   being   much   larger   in   extent  | 

than  Oxford  from  whence  it  was  taken, 

and  in  general  a  belter  tract  of   land. 

The  people  are  become  very  numerous, 

[3]  there  being  1965  souls  in  the  place 

when  the  census  was  taken  in  the  year 

1791,  which  is  more  by  several  hundreds  I 

than  any  town  in   the  county,  except  j 

Brookfleid,  Sutlou    and  Worcester,  »nd 

i-  is  become  exceedingly  wealthy — as  in 

the   last  state   lax   there   were  but   six 

towns    whi<:h    paid     more.     There    are 

three    hundred  dvrelliug   houses  in  the 

town.     The   people  subsist   chietiy    by 

the  cuUivalion  of  the   earih;    and  they 

'6. — The  population  of  Charlton  increased 
I  from  its  beginning  until  lSi:0,  '.vlicn  it  reach- 
i'd  2134,  notwithstanding  the  loss  of  inhabi- 
lant^  in  ceting  a  |torLi«»n  of  its  territory  in 
isio,  to  in:(k»i  a  portion  ol  the  present 
?soutlibri(lg('.  The  lew  years  previous  to 
IS20  it  enjoyt^l  a  i)rosperity  it  never  did  in 
any  other  decade,  liusiness  of  all  kiiui.s 
was  lively,  and  a  spirit  numifested  in  public 
iniitrovenieiit  seUloui  seen.  In  1830  there 
were  more  inliabiiaiits,  but  tiie  public  spiiit 
was  not  sii  (luickeiK'd. 


have  great  encouragement  to  labor,  for 
the  soil  is  strong  and  rich  and  the  lands 
are  fertile  and  very  productive.  Here 
they  raise  grains  of  all  kinds  in  plenty; 
beef  and  pork  are  fatted;  butter  and 
cheese  are  made  in  quantities  equal  to, 
if  not  surpassing,  any  other  town  in  the 
county.  The  lands  are  well  and  natu- 
rally adapted  to  orcharding  and  fruit  of 
all  kinds.  The  hills  are  moist  and 
springy;  the  hills  and  valleys  are  well 
proportioned  and  agreeably  inter- 
spersed. The  town  is  well  watered  by 
springs,  brooks  and  rivulets,  none  of 
which  claim  particular  mention.  But 
there  is  one  large  river  [4]  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  town,  near  to  Stur- 
bridge,  which  runs  from  the  north  to 
the  south,  and  is  called  Quinebaug. 
This  river  is  almost  an  inconceivable 
advantage,  not  to  Charlton  only,  but  to 
many  adjacent  towns,  by  supplying 
great  })U'nly  of  water  for  all  the  mills 
and  water  works  in  the  dry  est  seasons. 
On  this  river,  within  the  limits  of 
Charlton,  there  are  some  rich  interyal 
and  good  meadow  lands. 

There  are  several  hills  in  this  town 

4. — The  southwest   portion   of    Charlton  i 
was  made  a  portion  of  ^outhbridge  in  181G.  \ 
Marcy's  mill  was  the  chief  attraction.    For  i 
a  long  number  of  yeais  the  people  in  this  i 
sectii^n  desired  to  be   separated  from  Cliarl- 
ton,  and  make  a  town  lor  themselves.     One 
of  the   great   bones   of  contention  was  the 
building   and    j-epairing   of    the   bridge   at 
Marcy's  mill.     Almost  every  year  the  fresh- 
ets  woidd   do  more  or  less  damage  and  the 
people  in  the  central,   northern  and  eastern 
parts  of  the   town,  not   having  much  to  do 
in   that  section,  suffered   them  to  use  fre- 
(juently    a   neglected    bridge;  the   people  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  i)ridge  who  used  it  all  the 
time  were  in  the  minority  and  could  not  se- 
cui-e  the  needed  yearly  appropriations.  The 
cjuestiou  of  a  division  of  the  town  was  agi- 
tated a  score  or  more  of  years  before  it  was 
elYectfd. 


23 


worthy  of  raentiou — one  by  the  name 
of  Ponnakin;  [o]  another  called  Mash- 
ymu^gett;  [6]  this  is  high,  for  on  its 
summits  buildings  in  about  twelve  ad- 
jacent towns  may  be  discerned.  This 
hill  is  situated  about  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  from  the  Congregational  meet- 
ing house.  There  is  a  third,  known  by 
the  name  of  Blood's  Hill.  [7]  The 
fourth  and  last  we  shall  mention  is 
called  Craige's  Hill.  [8] 

There  ar-^  no  ponds  in  the  town  wor- 
thy of  notice,  nor  mines  or  minerals  as 
yet  discovered.  [9] 

.5. — This  hijih  liill  on  the  town  farm,  is 
dartially  covered  vvitli  a  spleiulid  growth  of 
pine.  The  town  lai'tn  was  the  homestead  of 
Ebenezei-  l)a\  i-N,  for  many  yeai-s  a  prominent 
and  influential  citizen. 

(i. — This     hill   is   now  owned    by    Moses 
Woodbury.     Jt  was  originally  owned  by  one 
John  Edwards,   who  in  later  years  resided 
in  the   southwest   part   of  the  town.     This 
hill,  we  understand,  is  not  the  highest  point  | 
of  land   in   Charlton  by   a  lew  feet.     The  | 
"Little  Mugget,"  ju?^t  southeast  of  Cliarl-  i 
ton  Depot  is  the  highest.     This  Little  Mug-  j 
get   is   not  mentioned   among  the  elevated  j 
lands  of  our  town  ;  it  was  probably  at  this  ' 
time  covered  with  woods,  and  its  height  and  | 
range  «>f  sight   were   not  realized  until  the  ' 
hill  was  shorn  of  the  forest.  i 

7. — The  elevation  just  south  of   Dresser  | 
Hill  was   originally   owned   by   the    Blood  ; 
Brothers,    who   early  came  into   this  town 
and  purchased.     The  farm  of  Dexter  Blood  ] 
lias  ever  remained  in  the  name  and  family,  j 
Dresser  Hill   was   quite   a  miiitary  resort; 
there   being  many  trainings    and   reviews 
liere.     In  those  days  a  gun  house  stood  at  j 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  lot  southeast  of 
the  Dresser  Hill   school-house,  wliich  con- 
tained  artillery,   etc,   property  of  the  state.  [ 
Captain  Dresser,  the  father  of  Major  Moses 
Dresser,  who  built  the  present  Dresser  Hill 
House  (180.5   kept   a  hotel  and  was  enter- 
prising in  many  ways. 

8. — Craige's  Hill  is  now  owned  by  Lewis 
C.  Prindle. 

9.— vA  little  above  Otis  Walker's  mill  was 
a  forge  at  one  time  for  making  pig  and  bar 
iron  from  ore  found  in  the  vicinity;  but 
either  from  fault  in  the  ore  or  the  work  the 
iron  was  iu)t   very  good.     Part  of  the  dam 


The  wood  and  timber  which  grow  in 
Charlton  is  white,  black  and  red  oak, 
and  walnut  and  chestnut  in  great  plen- 
ty; some  white  pine  and  some  pitch 
pine;  in  the  low  lands  there  is  ash, 
birch,  maple,  &c.,  &c. 

In  Charlton  there  are  a  few  dealers 
in  European  and  India  goods,  as  is  usu- 
al in  country  towns;  [10]  and  they  have 
also  all  the  common  tradesmen  and  me- 
chanics. But  there  are  two  tanners  [11] 
in  the  town  to  be  noticed  who  carr}'  on 
their  business  to  a  very  consideraVle 
degree,  and  in  the  most  advantageous 
manner,  viz.,  Capt.  Israel  Waters  and 
Mr.  Asa  Corbeu;  a..d  especially  the 
former,  in  the  northerly  part,  who  car- 
ries on  his  work  to  great  perfection. 
He  has  an  excellent  bark  mill  carried 
by  water,  and  upon  a  new  construction, 
whereby  he  grinds  all  his  bark.  On 
the  same  stream  a  little  below  there  is 
a  gin  still,  [12]  a  brewery,  malt  house 

of  this  forge  was  standing  a  few  years  since. 
The  ponds  of  Charlton  today  for  the  most 
part  are  reservoirs ;  the  water  privileges  of 
adjoining  towns  are  better,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  Charlton  is  a  watershed  and  discharges 
its  waters  on  either  side  of  the  town.  Ba- 
ker pond  which  is  almost  the  only  natural 
pond  wholly  or  in  part  within  our  limits 
was  named  after  Joseph  C.  Baker,  the 
grandfather  of  Harrison  Baker  of  Charlton 
and  Zephaniah  Baker  of  Dudley. 

10. — These  stores  were  at  the  north  side 
the  city,  Charlton  Centre  and  at  Dresser 
Hill. 

11. — Captain  Israel  Waters  lived  on  the 
place  now  owned  by  Samuel  llich,  and  his 
tannery  was  just  south  of  the  house,  and  at 
that  time  was  one  of  the  most  flourishing 
in  the  vicinity;  the  remains  of  the  founda- 
tion are  still  to  be  seen.  The  Bark  mill 
was  nearest  the  pond.  The  tannery  of  Mr. 
Corbin  was  in  the  southeast  part  of  the 
town. 

12. — The  residence  of  Mr.  Wheelock  is 
the  present  residence  of  Mr.  Daniel  F.  Rus- 
sell.    The    house    and    outbuildings    were 


24 


and  corn  mili  under  the  same  roof,  the 

property   of    Mr.    Eli    Wheelock,    who 

erected  said  works  in  the  year  1792,  and 

v.here  he   carries   on   each   branch    of 

business  very  largely  to   his  own  and 

the    public    interest.       On    the     same 

stream  there   are  sereral  grist  and  saw 

mills  and  other  water  works;   and  most 

of  the  mechanics  live  in  this  north  part 

of  the  town.     There  are  also  a  number 

of  pot  and  pearl  ash  works  [13]  in  dif- 

buill  by  Mv.  Wheelock,  and  the  site  of  the 
"ghi  mill,-'  which  added  so  much  to  the 
•'public  interest,'  is  just  west  of  Mr.  lius- 
sell's  barn,  the  brick  walls  of  Avhich  are  still 
standing.  Between  Xortli  Side  and  Mill- 
ward  there  were  several  wor'cshops  of  ■various 
kinds.  The  scythe  shops  at  Millward  were 
not  erected  until  about  the  beginning  of  this 
century. 

13. — There  were  several  pot  and  pearl 
asheries  in  town,  the  sites  of  some  of  them 
are  still  seen  and  known.  We  will  mention 
some:  The  one  owned  by  Salem  Town  was 
on  the  knoll,  just  north  of  William  H.  Wake- 
tield's  house,  near  the  juncure  of  the  road 
leading  to  North  Side;  the  excavation  is 
visible.  The  water  was  furnished  by  a 
spring  just  below  it.  Just  west  of  the  house 
of  Charles  K.  Austin,  for  a  long  tiiiit;  owned 
by  Samuel  Rich,  tliere  was  another:  a  weU 


ferent  parts  of  the  town,  where  large 
quantities  of  pot  and  pearl  ash  are  an- 
nually made  and  exported.  Charlton  is 
in  many  respects  one  of  the  foremost 
towns  in  the  county.  It  is  situated 
southwest  from  Boston  at  a  distance  of 
sixty  miles;  and  from  AVorcesler  court- 
houj^e  it  is  iifteen  miles,  a  little  to  the 
southwest.  It  is  bounded  north,  by 
Spencer;  east,  by  Oxford;  south  by 
Dudle}-;  and  west,  by  Sturbridge. 

now  marks  the  spot.  Just  southeast  of  ;Mr. 
John  Tyler's  barn  also  was  one.  In  certain 
seasons  the  grass  is  excellent  in  that  part  of 
the  meadow  coAored  with  ashes,  and  other 
seasons  the  crops  aie  poor;  everything  de- 
pends whether  the  season  is  wet  or  dry.  At 
Andrew  lieynokrs  place,  also,  a  few  rods 
southeast  of  his  barn,  was  one.  It  was  run 
by  John  Edwards,  Jr. ;  an  old  well  is  now 
at  the  place.  There  were  asheries  also  on 
Leonard  Carpenter's  farm;  near  Solomon 
iiichardson's;  near  the  Four  Corners,  south 
of  the  Alpheus  Davis  estate.  There  were 
others,  no  doubt,  in  town.  We  could,  if 
time  permitted,  add  other  notes  to  this  brief 
history  of  our  town,  written  over  eighty 
years  ago.  There  have  been  many  changes, 
but  landmarks  are  still  in  our  midst  which 
liote  the  industry  of  the  fathers.  It  is  well 
for  us  to  learn  all  we  can  of  them  that  we 
may  tlie  belter  direct  our  labors  in  life. 


MASONS  OF  CHARLTON 


FAYETTE  LODGE. 


In  the  recorJsof  the  Gmnd  Lodge  of 
masons  of  Massachusetts  we  learn  un- 
der the  date  of  March  14,  1796  that:— 
"a  petition  was  presented  from  Eben- 
ezer  Phillips  and  others  for  a  charter 
to  erect  and  hold  a  lodge  in  the  town 
of  Charlton  by  the  name  and  title  of 
Fayette  lodge.  'Twas  voted  that  the 
prayer  of  petitioners  be  granted.' '  In 
the  same  records  of  June  10, 1799  we 
find  that  "the  petition  received  from 
Fayette  lodge  praying  for  liberty  to 
meet  annually  by  rotation  at  Charlton, 
Sturbridge  and  Dudley  was  read  and 
vot«d  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  be 
granted  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
grand  lodge." 

The  masons  in  this  vicinity  will  be 
seen  lived  at  a  distance  from  each  oth- 
er and  that  they  accommodated  each 
other  as  much  as  they  could.  The 
naeetings  for  several  years  were  held  in 
the  house  of  Gen.  Salem  Towne, 
which  was  erected  the  same  year  of  the 
formation  of  the  lodge.  The  lodge 
was  held  in  a  room  fitted  up  for  the 
pm-pose  by  Mr.  Towne,  he  at  that  time 


being  an  active  mason.  This  room 
after  the  lodge  was  removed  was  made 
into  household  apartments  of  the  Towne 
manse.  This  house  is  still  in  a  very 
good  state  of  repair  proving  the  excel- 
ency  of  the  timber  and  the  skill  of  the 
workmanship  of  which  and  by  which  it 
was  made.  The  charter  of  the  lodge 
was  granted  March  14,  1796.  A  copy 
of  the  seal  is  before  us.  The  motto 
above  the  seal  is  '^Conjuncti  fraterno 
Amorey  On  the  ouisidu  of  the  circu- 
lar seal  is  "Fayette  Lodge,  CharPon 
Mass.,"  and  within  are  the  compasses, 
the  Bible  and  the  motto  "JVt7  >Sme  Deo." 
In  1806  the  Grand  Master  appointed 
R.  W.  Eben.  H.  Phillips  of  Charlton, 
as  Deputy  Grand  Master  for  the  6th 
district.  We  do  not  know  how  large  a 
territory  this  district  embraced;  but 
probably  it  contained  a  dozen  or  so  of 
lodges.  It  was  Mr.  Phillips'  task  to 
visit  these  lodges  from  time  to  time 
and  report  their  condition  to  the  Grand 
lodge. 

In  1804  "Welds'  tavern"  was  erected, 
and  Mr.  Welds  fitted  his  hall  for  the 


26 


fraternity.  This  bouse  is  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  Mr.  David  Craig  at  the 
Centre.  The  fraternity  did  not  meet 
here,  howerer,  many  times  but  removed 
to  Dresser  Hill,  In  the  tavern  built  the 
following  year  by  Major  Moses  Dresser, 
and  which  masonic  hall  was  fitted  at  his 
entire  expense.  It  may  be  said  that 
the  hall  in  "Dresser  house"  was  de- 
signed for  the  Eoyal  Arch  Chapter,  and 
after  the  chapter  which  received  its 
charter  in  1805  was  well  at  work,  the 
lodge  transferred  its  meetings  from  the 
Centre  to  Dresser  Hill.  The  condi- 
tions, or  among  them,  which  Major 
Dresser  offered  the  fraternity  if  they 
would  hold  their  meetings  in  his  hall 
were,  he  would  give  them  "meals  of  two 
or  three  dishes  of  meat,  puddings  and 
pies,  with  white  bread  and  cheese  for 
twenty-five  cents;"  he  would  "care  for 
the  horses  for  ten  cents,"  and  would 
give  the  hall  free  of  expense  except 
when  a  fire  was  needed.  From  this 
time  on  until  the  "Masonic  excite- 
ment" their  meetings  were  held  in  this 
hall.  The  question  of  cost  must  have 
been  of  no  small  importance,  especially 
if  the  scattered  members  attended  with 
regularity.  They  came  some  distance 
and  of  course  wanted  their  horses  and 
themselves  cared  for.  Dresser  Hill 
house  was  quite  a  resort  in  the  early 
part  of  this  century;  and  in  earlier  times 
in  the  tavern  which  Major  Moses  Dres- 
ser occupied  before  the  present  houie 
was  erected. 

In  182G  the  Doric  lodge  was  formed 
in  Southbridge  which  materially  affect- 
ed the  growth  and  influence  of  Fayette 
lodge.      But    with    the    "excitement" 


both  of  these  lodges  suspended  their 
meetings.  The  opposition  was  very 
fierce  and  none  of  the  masons  were 
eager  to  hold  on  against  the  pressure. 
The  lodge  was  never  revived  in  Charl- 
ton, though  in  Southbridge  the  masons 
came  together,  •  united  their  efforts, 
received  new  members,  and  are  today 
a  strong  and  influential  body. 

KING  Solomon's  chapter. 
This  chapter  received  its  charter 
September  18,  1805.  It  was  granted  to 
G.  Plimpton,  Jr.,  and  others.  It  seems 
to  have  a  varied  experience  for  the  ten 
succeeding  years.  It  was  represented 
in  the  grand  chapter  in  1808  by  Sumner 
Barstow;  in  1810  by  John  Brown,  in 
1812  by  Sumner  Barstow;  and  in  1814 
by  Eer.  Richard  Carrigue.  In  1815  the  .^ 
chapter  purchased  a  set  of  new  jewels,  1 
and  a  new  regalia,  at  the  cost  of  nearly 
S120.  The  chapter  took  this  opportu- 
nity to  have  a  public  installation  of 
ofiicers,  which  made  one  of  the  great 
occasions  of  our  town.  This  installa- 
liou  look  place  September  6,  1815.  We 
quote  from  the  grand  chapter  records 
concerning  this  memorable  gathering. 
"A  procession  was  then  formed  and  pro- 
I  ceeded  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whipple's  meet- 
!  ing  house,  where  King  Solomon's  chap- 
ter was  solemnly  consecrated  and  the 
ofiicers  installed  in  accordance  with  the 
ancient  form.  After  the  benediction 
was  pronounced  the  procession  was 
again  formed  and  returned  to  the  hall, 
,^where  the  companions  and  brethren  sat 
down  t©  a  plentiful  and  splendid  enter- 
tainnaent  prepared  by  Jonathan  Cope- 
land.  Sentiments,  songs  (the  singing 
was  led  by  a  Professor    JSTavill)  and 


27 


social  hilarity  prevailed,  and  at  an  early 
hour  the  grand  chapter  returned  to  their 
room  and  closed;  and  the  company 
separated  wfcll  pleased  with  the  harmony 
and  good  fellowship  which  had  marked 
all  the  proceedings  of  ihe  day." 

The  following  persons  were  installed 
as  the  otlicers  of  the  chapter:  W.  E. 
Richard  Carrique,  High  Priest;  E.  John 
Brown,  King;  E.  Benjamin  Stow, 
Scribe;  Comp,  Thadeus  Marl)le,  Trea- 
surer; Comp.  Jason  Waters,  Secretary; 
Comp.  Gershom  Plympton,  R.  A.  Cap- 
tain; Comp.  Ephraim  Willard,  C.  of  II., 
Comp.  Erich  Marsh,  P.  S.;  Comp.  Reu- 
ben Harrington,  Joseph  G.  Hall  and 
Francis  0.;c!ark,  Mcisters  of  the  Vails; 
Comps.  Jonathan  Copeland  and  Moses 
Williams,  Stewards;  and  Rufus  Bacon, 
Tyler. 

This  chapter  was  evidently  working 
under  a  dispensation  for  various  reasons 
for  nearly  ten  years.  John  Wilder  of 
Leicester  was  elected  its  high  priest  in 
1817,  after  the  removal  of  Rev.  Richard 
Carrique'from  this  vicinity-  This  same 
year  Rev.  Richard  Carrique  was  instal- 
led as  the  first  high  priest  of  Adoniram 
chapter  at  Attleborough,  Mass.  At  the 
session  of  the  grand  chapter,  1818,  Rev. 
Jonathan  Going  of  Worcester,  king, 
and  Nathan  Knowlton,  scribe,  were  re- 
presentatives from  and  for  King  Solo- 
mon's chapter.  This  chapter  was  repre- 
sented at  the  yearly  gatherings  of  tlie 
grand  chapter  for  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  years.  ReT.  Richard  Carriqtie 
alluded  to,  began  his  residence  in  Charl- 
ton in  1812,  and  preached  for^the  Uni- 
versalists  in  this  and  adjoining  towns  for 


some  three  years.  He  died  in  Hudson, 
X.  Y.,  in  1849.  Rev.  Jonathan  Going 
was  the  past«r  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  in  Worcester,  at  this  time,  and 
after  the  formation  of  R.  A.  chapter 
in  Worcester,  was  an  officer  in  that  and 
was  quite  active  until  it  became  dor- 
mant. 

In  1825  there  was  another  large 
gathering  of  the  chapter  to  celebrate 
the  nativity  of  St.  John  the  Baptist. 
This  occurred  the  24th  of  June.  From 
the  records' of  the  chapter  we  learn  that 
the  following  named  were  the  com- 
mittee of  arrangements:  Stephen  Eddy, 
Albigence  Marsh,  Harvey  Dresser, John 
Spurr  and  David  Lathe.  Mr.  Linus 
Childs  of  Woodstock,  Ct.,  was  selected 
to  deliver  the  oration.  Major  John 
j  Spurr  was  marshal  of  the  day.  The 
1  oraiion  was  delivered  in  the  Center 
meeting  house. 

The  last  writing  in  the  chapter 
records  was  May  12,  1829,  though  we 
think  on  the  authority  aged  citizens 
there  were  meetings  after  this,  ever  in 
1831.  The  charter  of  this  chapter  was 
revoked  at  the  session  of  the  grand 
chapter,  Sept.  8,  1840,  and  Sept.  13, 
1842,  it  was  stricken  from  the  list  of 
chapters  and  its  charter  forfeited. 

The  chapter  held  its  regular  meetings 
in  the  Dresser  Hill  house,  and  when 
they  were  well  at  work  in  1805-G  the 
Blue  lodge,  which  had  been  holding  its 
meetings  in  the  house  of  Gen.  Salem 
Town  and  in  the  William  Welds 
tavern,  now  David  Craig's  house,  united 
with  them  in  holding  their  meetings  in 
the  same   place.    In  the  "old  hall"  in 


2S 


Dresser  Hill  house,  underneath  one  of 
the  lids  of  the  side  settees,  is  this  in- 
script'oD,  "Built  1805;  finished  painting 
J'n'r  6th  1808  by  Nathan  Walden." 

CONCLUSIOK. 

The  historical  notes  we  hare  written 
out  were  gathered  in  the  usual  labors  of 
the  parish,  in  conversation  with  the 
older  members  of  the  community  who 
delight  to  dwell  upon  the  times  and 
memories  of  their  youth,  and  from 
records  and  books  which  have  come  to 
hand  relating  to  our  town.  The  author 
has  had  only  a  residence  of  three  years  in 
Charlton,  hence  he  has  not  been  able  to 
seek  out  all  which  might  have  been 
written.  But  now  as  the  pastorate  of 
the  author  closes  he  could  only  put  in 
permanent   form    the    notes    he    had 


gathered,  that  they  might  aid  the  fu- 
ture historian  of  the  town.  During  our 
residence  here  also  we  have  written  a 
history  of  the  XJniversalist  parish,  to 
which  we  have  ministered,  which  was 
delivered  to  the  parish  in  the  shape  of 
sermons.  The  notes  upon  the  parish 
made  four  sermons  of  ordinary  length. 
Upon  invitation  of  Eev.  Dr.  T.  B. 
Thayer,  editor  of  the  Universalist 
Quarterly,  this  history  will  be  rewritten 
and  condensed  fox'  the  pages  of  the 
periodical  over  which  he  so  ably  pre- 
sides. It  will  appear  in  said  Quarterty 
at  no  distant  day.  It  is  the  author's  de- 
sign to  secure  extra  copies  of  this  his- 
tory, and  should  any  one  desire  a  copy, 
it  could  be  furnished  at  a  small  price. 


ERRATA  ET  ADDENDA. 

Page  5,  column  two.  "Barefoot"  was  a  name  given  to  this 
locality  by  Capt.  Abijah  Lamb,  wlio  in  the  old  militia  days 
commanded  the  "South-west  Company."  Many  of  his  compa- 
ny on  training  days  were  said  to  ai^pear  in  the  ranks  barefoot- 
ed; hence  the  name  was  given  to  tlio  locality  which  it  bears  to 
this  day. 

Page  6,  column  one.  The  tomb  ha-^  since  been  torn  down 
and  the  place  levelled. 

Page  8,  column  one,  tenth  line  from  bottom.  The  word 
"plat"  for  "flat." 

Page  13,  column  two,  eleventh   line 
for  "plain." 

Page  16,  column  one.     Parlt-y  Laflin  was  sexton  just 
ous'to  Comins  Litchfield. 

Page  25.  The  records  of  the  Masonic  Lodge  and  Royal 
Arch"  Chapter  have  been  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Albigence 
ISIar-h  formerly  of  Charlton,  but  now  of -Sa»«eniflfi,  111.,  where 
he  is  stiir  living  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  He  became  interested 
in  these  sketches  and  gave  the  author  many  items  of  interest. 
These  recoT-ds  are  now  to  be  restored  and  preserved  m  the 
archives  of  the  Grand  Lodge  and  Grand  Chapter  of  Massachu- 
setts. 


from    bottom, 


'Main" 


pr. 


^^ 


A, 


^fl 


